Tell us about the story of Malli Malli?
The entire story of this film revolves around Nandu character. Nandu is a boy next door who has an ambition to secure a job and lead a nice life. But bad luck catches him like a plague and he is treated as an awara in his colony. He puts up with all the insults.

Nandu has a love interest called Madhu. He sees her at the bus stop everyday, but has no guts to talk to her and express his feelings. He fails at whatever he attempts. He gets suffocated and frustrated with failures. He goes to the edge of death as he wants to commit suicide. He has two choices – die or come back and fight with the life. The story progresses from there based on the decision he make.

The entire story happens in a day.

Is it a challenge to make a film with a day’s story?
Yes. We don’t have different locations. We don’t have the advantage of cut-away from the scenes. We don’t have the padding of pre-set commercial elements. There is a saying that the last shot is the film. Whatever we do in the first two hours may not count. But the last scenes are of great importance to the success of any movie. We have a solid climax. Malli Malli is a boy’s struggle for the survival.

The title Malli Malli denotes that the hero would go through the same motions again in the film.

Tell us about the main casting of the movie?Skanda: I considered a boy called Rahul who made his debut through ‘Moscow Vin Kaveri’ which is being directed by Ravi Varman. When I approached him, he said that he is on contract with Oscar Films for three years. I happened to see the songs of Malayalam film Notebook (2006) and liked Skanda who acted as hero in that film. He is apt for the story.

Kalyanee: Since the entire movie is narrated from the hero point of view, the role of heroine in this film is pretty less. I selected a Malayalee girl Kalyanee who acted with Mammootty last year.

Sachin Khedekar: Bollywood actor Sachin Khedekar is doing the role of an NRI who returns from USA to serve the local people by starting an NGO. It is a vital character.

What is the runtime of the movie?
Malli Malli took 42 working days to shoot. The runtime of the movie is 2 hours.

Is Malli Malli inspired by any Hollywood film?
There are bound to be inspirations in my films. I feel that any form of art is an inspiration. It is easy to say that Ghajini is inspired by Memento film. But it is hard to make a film like Ghajini out of Mememto that could appeal to masses and classes alike.

What is your next project?My next film will star Tarun in the lead role. It will be produced by Supreme Raju and Gogineni Srinivas. This film will be shot in Bangkok and it will go to floors in next month.